JP2016186628A - Glossiness providing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a glossiness providing device that, when providing glossiness onto both faces of a recording medium, cools a surface onto which glossiness has already been provided to improve the quality of a glossiness image during double-sided printing.SOLUTION: There is provided a glossiness providing device 300 comprising: an endless belt 24 that conveys a recording medium P while in contact with a recording agent on the recording medium P for providing glossiness to the recording agent; a heating member 21 that has the endless belt 24 wound therearound; a pressure member 34 that applies pressure to the endless belt 24 between the heating member 21 and the pressure member; a cooling roller 91 that has the pressure member 34 wound therearound; a pressure cooling part 13 that cools the cooling roller 91 by using a liquid L; and a first housing part 310 that is arranged to surround the endless belt 24, heating member 21, pressure member 34, and cooling roller 91. The pressure cooling part 13 includes a cooling device 74 that is located outside the first housing part 310 and cools the liquid L, a roller cooling part 131 that cools the cooling roller 91, and a flow channel for the liquid L that connects the roller cooling part 131 and the cooling device 74.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a gloss imparting device and an image forming apparatus having the gloss imparting device.

In order to give gloss to an image formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer, there is known a gloss applying apparatus provided in the image forming apparatus or separately from the image forming apparatus (for example, Patent Documents). 1-6).
In such a gloss imparting device, the belt has a belt for conveying the recording medium, a heating unit for heating the belt, and a cooling unit for cooling the belt heated by the heating unit, and after the toner on the recording medium is heated, A technique has been proposed in which the surface state of the belt is transferred to a toner and gloss is imparted to an image on a recording medium by closely contacting and cooling.

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a double-sided glossy image that imparts high gloss to both sides of a recording medium using the above-described gloss providing device. In addition to the color toner, there is an increasing demand for an image that imparts high gloss to the entire image by attaching a clear toner to a portion where the color toner is not placed.

  When gloss is imparted to both sides of a recording medium, it is necessary to impart gloss to one side (front surface) and then to reverse the recording medium to impart gloss to the other side (back side). However, when the gloss is imparted to the back surface, the surface temperature rises, so that the toner on the surface melts and the glossiness of the surface may decrease.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. Even when gloss is imparted to both sides of a recording medium, the surface side already glossy is cooled to perform duplex printing. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gloss imparting device for improving the quality of glossy images.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the gloss imparting device according to the present invention includes an endless belt for transporting the recording medium in a state in contact with the recording agent on the recording medium and imparting gloss to the recording agent, A heating member wrapped around the endless belt for heating the endless belt, a pressure member that pressurizes the endless belt between the heating member, and the pressure member A first casing disposed so as to surround the cooling roller, a pressure cooling unit that cools the cooling roller with liquid, the endless belt, the heating member, the pressure member, and the cooling roller. A body part, and the pressure cooling part is located outside the first housing part and cools the cooling roller in contact with the cooling roller and a cooling device for cooling the liquid. Roller cooling section, and roller cooling section and front And a, a flow path of the liquid connecting the cooling device.

  According to the present invention, even when gloss is imparted to both sides of a recording medium, the quality of a glossy image at the time of duplex printing is improved by cooling the side already glossy.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus and a gloss imparting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the glossiness imparting apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the control part of the glossiness imparting apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the control part of the glossiness imparting apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing the relationship between the surface temperature of the pressurization member of the glossiness imparting apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and glossiness. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part in the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another example of the cooling roller shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the pressurization cooling part in the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the other structure of the pressurization cooling part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the partition plate shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other modification of the partition plate shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the prior art of a structure of a glossiness imparting apparatus.

  The gloss applying apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used by being connected to the image forming apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. Further, the gloss applying device 300 is configured to transmit / receive information to / from the image forming apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 4 having four process units 4 </ b> Y, 4 </ b> C, 4 </ b> M, and 4 </ b> BK that forms an image on a sheet P as a recording medium, And a paper feeding device 3 for supplying P.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a reading device 2 as a scanner that reads a document image, and an automatic document feeder 121 that automatically feeds the document to the reading device 2.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a transfer unit 126 serving as a transfer unit having an endless intermediate transfer belt 147 serving as a transfer body in a housing 101, and an optical writing unit serving as an exposure unit positioned above the image forming unit 4. An optical scanning device 155.
The image forming apparatus 100 also conveys the paper P and transfers the toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 147 to the paper P at the secondary transfer position N that is a nip portion with the intermediate transfer belt 147. It has a transfer conveying means 5 which is a transfer means.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 84 that cleans the intermediate transfer belt 147 after the secondary transfer.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a registration roller pair 145 that feeds the paper P supplied from the paper feeding device 3 to the secondary transfer position N at a predetermined timing.
The image forming apparatus 100 also has a fixing unit 6 that carries the toner image after passing through the secondary transfer position N and fixes the toner image onto the paper P conveyed by the transfer conveying means 5.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a paper discharge unit 7 that discharges the paper P that has passed through the fixing unit 6 and has the toner image fixed thereon.
The image forming apparatus 100 also includes an image forming control unit 93 that is equipped with a CPU, a non-volatile memory, and a volatile memory, and serves as a control unit that controls the operation of each unit.

  The reading device 2 generates RGB image information by optically reading a document conveyed by the automatic document feeder 121 and placed on the contact glass 122. Specifically, the reading device 2 reads RGB image information by shining light on a document and receiving the reflected light with a reading sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). The RGB image information is information representing an image formed on the paper P, and includes the brightness of each color of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

  The paper feeding device 3 includes a plurality of paper feeding cassettes 332 that store paper P in the housing 101 and a plurality of paper feeding units for transporting the paper P stored in the paper feeding cassette 332 toward the registration roller pair 145. A feed roller 331. The paper feeding device 3 also conveys the paper P from the manual paper feeding device 333 toward the registration roller pair 145 as a manual paper feeding device 333 as a manual paper feeding unit that supplies the paper P from the outside of the housing 101. And a manual feed roller 334.

Each of the process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK has drum-shaped photoconductors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK that are image carriers as rotating bodies that rotate in the B direction, which is counterclockwise in the drawing. Each of the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK has a photosensitive layer that is a scanned surface of scanning light emitted from the optical scanning device 155 formed on the surface thereof.
The process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK also include charging devices 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43BK, which are provided upstream of the B direction around the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK, respectively.
The process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK also have developing devices 42Y, 42C, 42M, and 42BK as developing units, and primary transfer rollers 475Y, 475C, and 475M as primary transfer units provided in the transfer unit 126, respectively. 475BK.
Each of the process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK also includes a potential sensor that is a surface potential sensor as a surface potential detection unit that detects the surface potential of the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK.
The process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK form toner images of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, respectively, by forming latent images on the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK by the optical scanning device 155. .

  The intermediate transfer belt 147 is formed by dispersing carbon powder for adjusting electric resistance in a polyimide resin with little elongation. The intermediate transfer belt 147 is wound around a driving roller 471 that is driven to rotate in the direction A in FIG. 1 by a driving source, a driven roller 472 that rotates in the same direction as the driving roller 471, and a secondary transfer roller 473. ing.

The transfer conveyance unit 5 includes a secondary transfer counter roller 474 provided to face the secondary transfer roller 473 and a secondary transfer belt 150 wound around the secondary transfer counter roller 474.
In the transfer conveyance unit 5, the secondary transfer belt 150 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 147 at the secondary transfer position N to form a nip portion.
At the secondary transfer position N, the transfer conveying unit 5 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 147 with the paper P between the secondary transfer belt 150 and the secondary transfer roller 473 and applies a secondary transfer bias to the intermediate transfer belt 147. The toner image on the surface is transferred to the paper P.
At this time, as the secondary transfer bias, a charge opposite to the electrostatic charge charged on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 147 is applied.
The secondary transfer belt 150 conveys the paper P after the secondary transfer at the secondary transfer position N to the fixing unit 6.

The fixing unit 6 includes a heating roller 161 having a heat source therein, a fixing belt 164 wound around the heating roller 161, and a fixing roller 162 wound around the fixing belt 164 together with the heating roller 161. The fixing unit 6 also includes a pressure roller 163 that presses against the fixing belt 164 with the fixing roller 162 to form a fixing nip as a fixing portion that is a pressure contact portion. The heating roller 161, the fixing belt 164, and the fixing roller 162 constitute a belt unit in which the fixing belt 164 moves endlessly. The fixing unit 6 passes the paper P carrying the toner image through the fixing nip, thereby fixing the carried toner image on the surface of the transfer paper by the action of heat and pressure.
The heating roller 161 includes an aluminum cylindrical roller, a silicone rubber layer formed on the outer periphery of the cylinder, and a halogen heater as a heat generator disposed inside the cylinder.

  The paper discharge unit 7 includes a pair of paper discharge rollers 171 disposed opposite to each other, and a duplex unit that reverses the front and back of the paper P and conveys it to the registration roller pair 145 in order to form images on both sides of the paper P. 173.

The image formation control unit 93 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory (MEM-P), a north bridge (NB), and a south bridge (SB).
The image formation control unit 93 also includes an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a local memory (MEM-C).
The image formation control unit 93 also includes an HD (Hard Disk), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a PCI bus, and a network I / F.

  The CPU processes and calculates data according to a program stored in the main memory, and controls the operation of each unit described above. The main memory serves as a storage area for the image formation control unit 93 and stores programs and data for realizing the functions of the image formation control unit 93. Alternatively, this program may be configured to be provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, FD, CD-R, DVD, etc. in an installable or executable format file. .

  The local memory (MEM-C) is used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer. The HD is a storage for storing image data, storing font data used for printing, and storing forms. The HDD controls reading or writing of data with respect to the HD according to the control of the CPU. The network I / F transmits / receives information to / from an external device such as an information processing apparatus via a communication network.

The image formation control unit 93 operates as a communication control unit for controlling bidirectional communication with a host device (for example, a personal computer) via a communication network.
The image formation control unit 93 also operates as an image data processing unit that sends image data from the host device to the optical scanning device 155.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 having such a configuration, when copying, a document is set on the automatic document feeder 121 and the start button on the operation panel is pressed. Alternatively, the automatic document feeder 121 is rotated upward to place the document on the contact glass 122, and then the automatic document feeder 121 is rotated downward to close the document and press the document. Press the button. The document set on the automatic document feeder 121 is, for example, a bundle-shaped sheet document, and the document set on the contact glass 122 is, for example, a single-bound document that is bound in a main shape. When the image forming apparatus 100 is used as a printer, an image forming start operation is performed after image data to be formed is selected and input by an external input device such as a PC connected to the image forming apparatus 100.

  When copying is performed and the document is set on the automatic document feeder 121, the document is read by the reading device 2 after the set document is sent onto the contact glass 122. When the document is placed on the contact glass 122, the document is read by the reading device 2 by pressing the start button. When the original is read by the reading device 2, RGB image information corresponding to each color image of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is generated by the image formation control unit 93 functioning as an image data processing unit.

  Based on the generated RGB image information or the input RGB image information, the image formation control unit 93 functioning as an image data processing unit generates a toner pattern for expressing each color image of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Generated.

Using these toner patterns, the image forming unit 4 forms yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images. The process units 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK having the above-described configuration are operated to form yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images on the intermediate transfer belt 147.
At this time, first, in the process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK, the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK are uniformly charged by the charging devices 43Y, 43C, 43M, and 43BK. Thereafter, the optical scanning device 155 scans and exposes the surfaces of the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK based on the RGB image information, thereby forming a latent image on the surface to be scanned.

  The latent images on the photoconductors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK are developed with the toners of the respective colors carried on the developing rollers of the developing devices 42Y, 42C, 42M, and 42BK, and are visualized as toner images. The toner images on the photoconductors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 147 that is rotated counterclockwise by the action of the primary transfer rollers 475Y, 475C, 475M, and 475BK. The image forming operation for each color at this time is shifted in timing from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 147 so that the toner image is transferred to the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 147. Executed. The surfaces of the photoconductors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK after the completion of the primary transfer are cleaned by a cleaning device and are prepared for the next image formation. The toner filled in the toner tanks in the developing devices 42Y, 42C, 42M, and 42BK is transferred to the developing devices 42Y, 42C, 42M, and 42BK of the process units 4Y, 4C, 4M, and 4BK according to the conveyance path as necessary. A predetermined amount is replenished.

  The toner images of four colors yellow, magenta, cyan, and black superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 147 are secondary positions that are opposed to the secondary transfer roller 473 as the intermediate transfer belt 147 rotates in the A direction. Move to the transfer nip N. In the secondary transfer nip N, the secondary transfer roller 473 and the secondary transfer counter roller 474 are secondarily transferred to the paper P, and the full color image is carried on the paper P. At this time, the secondary transfer counter roller 474 is applied with a positive polarity voltage opposite to the negative polarity, which is the normal charging polarity of the toner. A toner image is transferred onto P.

  For the paper P conveyed between the intermediate transfer belt 147 and the secondary transfer counter roller 474, one feed roller 331 of the paper feeding device 3 is selected by pressing the start button, and the corresponding paper feed is performed by this rotation. The paper cassette 332 is fed out and fed. Although the paper feeding device 3 is used here, it may be fed from the manual paper feeding device 333 by being fed by the rotation of the manual paper feeding roller 334. The sheet P is sent out by the registration roller pair 145 at the timing when the front end of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 147 faces the secondary transfer counter roller 474 based on the detection signal from the sensor. Such a feed operation is started substantially simultaneously with the document reading operation described above.

  When the toner image of all colors is transferred and carried on the sheet P, the sheet P enters the fixing unit 6 and passes through the fixing nip between the fixing belt 164 and the pressure roller 163, due to the action of heat and pressure. The carried toner image is fixed, and a good color image is formed on the paper P. The fixed paper P that has passed through the fixing unit 6 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100 via the paper discharge roller 171 or enters the double-sided unit 173 depending on the position of the switching claw. Prepare for formation.

  The sheet P on which the image is formed is discharged out of the image forming apparatus 100 from the sheet discharge roller 171. The paper P discharged from the paper discharge roller 171 of the image forming apparatus 100 is inserted into the gloss applying device 300.

  On the other hand, the photoreceptors 40Y, 40C, 40M, and 40BK that have undergone the primary transfer are cleaned by removing the transfer residual toner and the like remaining on the photoreceptors 40Y, thereby preparing for the next image formation. The intermediate transfer belt 147 that has finished the secondary transfer is cleaned by removing residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 84 to prepare for the next image formation.

  The gloss imparting apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 3 generates gloss on the image by smoothing the surface of the recording agent attached to the paper P. The paper P here is one on which the image forming apparatus 100 forms an image by attaching toner as a recording agent.

The gloss applying device 300 conveys the paper P in contact with the toner on the paper P and imparts gloss to the endless belt 24 and an endless belt 24 for heating the endless belt 24. And a gloss-imparting heating roll 21 as a heating member around which the belt 24 is wound.
The gloss applying device 300 is opposed to the drive roll 26 for driving the endless belt 24 in the direction D in FIG. 3, the peeling roll 27 for peeling the paper P from the endless belt 24, and the gloss applying heating roll 21. It has a gloss imparting pressure roll 22 arranged.
The gloss applying device 300 includes a tension roll 28 for keeping the tension of the endless belt 24 constant, a guide member 30 for delivering the paper P to the endless belt 24, and the paper P peeled from the endless belt 24. It has the conveyance member 31 for conveying.

The gloss imparting device 300 is a first cooling member that abuts the endless belt 24 along the direction D, which is the moving direction of the endless belt 24, in order to cool the endless belt 24 heated by the gloss imparting heating roll 21. 41, 51, 61.
The gloss imparting device 300 includes a pressure member 34 that is a second endless belt wound around the gloss imparting pressure roll 22, and second cooling for cooling the pressure member 34 when the pressure member 34 is wound around. And a cooling roller 91 as a member.
The gloss applying device 300 includes cooling means 40, 50, and 60 that are cooling systems for cooling the first cooling members 41, 51, and 61, respectively.

  The gloss applying device 300 includes a pressure cooling unit 13 that cools the cooling roller 91 using a cooling liquid L that is a liquid refrigerant.

The gloss imparting device 300 is a paper ejection that ejects the paper P provided on the opposite side of the insertion port 33 in the housing of the gloss imparting device 300 from the insertion port 33 provided in the vicinity of the paper ejection roller 171 of the image forming apparatus 100. And a mouth 32.
The gloss applying device 300 includes a temperature sensor 25 that detects the temperature of the surface of the endless belt 24, and a cooling temperature sensor 66 that detects the temperature of the first cooling member 61.

The gloss applying device 300 includes gloss determining means 86 that determines the presence or absence of gloss on the surface of the paper P that contacts the pressure member 34.
As shown in FIG. 4, the gloss applying device 300 includes a control unit 220 for controlling the operation and function of each member.

As shown in FIG. 3, the endless belt 24 is wound around the gloss imparting heating roll 21, the drive roll 26, the peeling roll 27, and the tension roll 28, and in the vicinity of the insertion port 33 of the gloss imparting apparatus 300. To the vicinity of the paper discharge port 32 so as to be horizontal.
The endless belt 24 is a two-layer belt having a base material formed on the wound inner peripheral surface side and a surface layer formed on the outer peripheral surface side.
The base material is formed of polyimide having a thickness of 80 μm and high heat resistance.
In addition, polyester, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyether sulfone, polyether ketone, polysulfone, polyamideimide, polyamide, or the like may be used as the base material. In addition, although the thickness of the base material is 80 μm here, the thickness may be 10 to 300 μm.

The surface layer is made of a silicone-based resin having a thickness of 1 to 100 μm, and has a high smoothness on the surface in contact with the paper P. The surface layer has high adhesiveness with the toner at the heated portion and stably transports the paper P, but has high releasability from the toner and easily peels off after cooling.
As for the surface roughness of the surface layer on the side in contact with the paper P, the arithmetic average roughness Ra is preferably 0.3 μm or less, and more preferably 0.1 μm or less.
The surface layer may be a surface layer forming material such as a fluororesin.

The endless belt 24 is configured to rotate in the transport direction of the paper P, that is, the direction D in FIG. 3 at a speed of 50 to 700 mm / sec by the driving force of the driving roll 26.
The gloss imparting pressure roll 22 is configured to rotate in the direction C in FIG.

The gloss imparting heating roll 21 and the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 are provided in the vicinity of the guide member 30 so as to face each other with the endless belt 24 and the pressure member 34 interposed therebetween, and form a gloss imparting nip portion. ing. The width of the gloss imparting nip is set to about 10 to 40 mm.
The gloss-imparting heating roll 21 includes a cylindrical metal roll made of aluminum having a diameter of 50 to 120 mm, a silicone rubber layer having a thickness of 5 to 30 mm formed on the outer periphery thereof, and a halogen heater as a heat generator disposed inside. 23. A surface layer surface of the silicone rubber layer may have a fluororesin tube having a thickness of 30 to 200 μm.

  The gloss imparting pressure roll 22 is a cylindrical metal roll, a silicone rubber layer having a thickness of 5 to 30 mm formed on the outer periphery thereof, and a fluorine having a thickness of 30 to 200 μm formed on the surface of the silicone rubber layer. It consists of a resin tube.

The temperature sensor 25 detects the temperature of the surface of the endless belt 24 around the gloss imparting heating roll 21.
The cooling temperature sensor 66 is attached to a portion of the surface of the first cooling member 61 that is not in contact with the endless belt 24, and has a function as temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the first cooling member 61.

The control unit 220 performs on / off control of the halogen heater 23 based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 25. The temperature sensor 25 uses a contact type thermistor in this embodiment, but may be a non-contact type thermopile or the like. With this configuration, the surface temperature of the endless belt 24 on the gloss imparting heating roll 21 is controlled to a temperature higher than the melting point of the toner, for example, 100 ° C. to 180 ° C.
The gloss imparting heating roll 21 heats the paper P and simultaneously presses the paper P so that the toner surface of the paper P and the smooth surface of the endless belt 24 are in contact with the gloss imparting pressure roll 22. As a result, the toner adhering to the paper P is melted. Here, the material of the metal roll portion of the gloss imparting heating roll 21 is aluminum, but it is not particularly limited to aluminum. However, a metal with good thermal conductivity is preferable from the viewpoint of heating efficiency.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 220 includes a CPU 211 that controls the operation of the glossing apparatus 300 as a whole, a ROM 212 that stores programs and data for realizing the functions of the control unit 220, and a RAM 213 that is used as a work area for the CPU 211. have. Further, the control unit 220 includes an HD (Hard Disk) 214 that stores various data, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 215 that controls reading or writing of various data with respect to the HD 214 according to the control of the CPU 211. In addition, the control unit 220 includes a network I / F (Interface) 216 for transmitting data using a communication network, and bus lines such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above components. 217. The ROM 212 stores a gloss generation processing control program for controlling the gloss applying device 300.

The first cooling members 41, 51, 61 are heated by the glossing heating roll 21 on the downstream side in the D direction and the upstream side of the peeling roll 27 with respect to the contact with the glossing heating roll 21 of the endless belt 24. It is provided for cooling the endless belt 24 and the paper P.
The first cooling members 41, 51, 61 are installed in this order from the upstream side along the rotation direction of the endless belt 24, in other words, the D direction which is the moving direction of the paper P.
The first cooling members 41, 51, 61 are in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt 24 to cool the endless belt 24, so that the toner image on the sheet P conveyed in close contact with the endless belt 24. Cool down.
The first cooling members 41, 51, 61 are made of aluminum so that a hole for circulating a fluid, specifically, a coolant as a refrigerant, reciprocates inside the first cooling members 41, 51, 61. Formed and connected to the cooling means 40, 50, 60.
The first cooling members 41, 51, and 61 are desirably made of a metal having good thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper, but are not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of cooling means 40, 50, 60 are provided for cooling a plurality of portions of the endless belt 24 in the D direction, and for cooling the first cooling members 41, 51, 61, respectively. Is provided.
Here, the cooling means 40, 50 and 60 have the same basic configuration, and therefore the cooling means 40 will be described as an example.

  The cooling means 40 includes a flow channel 45 for circulating a coolant for cooling the first cooling member 41, a cooling unit 42 provided in the flow channel 45 for cooling the coolant, and a reservoir for storing the coolant. A tank 43 and a pump 44 for circulating the coolant are provided.

The channel 45 is a hollow tube through which the coolant passes, and connects the cooling unit 42, the tank 43, the pump 44, and the first cooling member 41. Here, the flow path 45 may use a metal pipe or the like having good thermal conductivity in order to efficiently transmit the temperature of the coolant to the first cooling member 41.
The cooling unit 42 is a radiator having a fan for cooling the coolant, and the amount of cooling can be adjusted by changing the air volume of the fan. In order to efficiently cool the toner on the paper P, for example, it is desirable that the fan air volume can be set to 0 to 11 m ³ / min.
The pump 44 can adjust the flow rate of the coolant flowing through the cooling means 40, and it is desirable if it can be adjusted to, for example, 0 to 15 liters / minute.
With such a configuration, the cooling liquid cooled by the cooling unit 42 cools the first cooling member 41 while circulating through the flow path 45 by the tank 43 and the pump 44. The coolant heated by the exhaust heat from the endless belt 24 is returned to the cooling unit 42, cooled by the cooling unit 42, and again used for cooling the endless belt 24.
The circulating coolant keeps the temperature of the first cooling member 41 low, and cools the abutting endless belt 24.

  The pressure member 34 is a belt wound around the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 and the cooling roller 91. Other configurations such as the material and thickness of the pressure member 34 are the same as those of the endless belt 24, and thus the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pressure cooling unit 13 is a cooling system for cooling the cooling roller 91 using the cooling liquid L.
The pressure cooling unit 13 includes a cavity 131 serving as a roller cooling unit provided in contact with the cooling roller 91 inside the cooling roller 91, a supply pipe 132 serving as a supply path for supplying the coolant L to the cavity 131, and a cavity And a discharge pipe 136 for discharging the coolant L from the portion 131.
The pressure cooling unit 13 also includes a rotary joint 133 that rotatably supports the cooling roller 91.
The pressure cooling unit 13 has a cooling device 70 for cooling the coolant L upstream of the supply pipe 132 in the F direction and downstream of the discharge pipe 136.

  The cavity 131 is a cavity provided inside the cooling roller 91, and cools the cooling roller 91 by being filled with the cooling liquid L. A supply pipe 132 and a discharge pipe 136 are connected to the cavity 131.

  The supply pipe 132 is a hollow pipe that partially pierces one end of the cooling roller 91, that is, is inserted, and the cooling liquid L is hollowed out from the plurality of supply holes 134 formed in the inserted part. To the unit 131.

  At this time, the portion through which the supply pipe 132 is inserted has a function as the insertion portion 132a.

The rotary joint 133 seals the coolant 137 passing through the rotary joint 133 or the discharge pipe 136 and the bearing 137 for rotatably supporting the connecting portion 136 a that is a rotating shaft fixed to the cooling roller 91. And an O-ring 138 as a sealing member.
The rotary joint 133 is sealed with an O-ring 138 while supporting one end of the connecting portion 136a with a bearing 137, thereby preventing leakage of the coolant L caused by the rotation of the cooling roller 91.
The rotary joint 133 is a rotary joint that stably supports the cooling roller 91 in such a configuration.

  The discharge pipe 136 is a hollow pipe connected to the hollow portion 131 via the rotary joint 133 and the connection portion 136a. The discharge pipe 136, the rotary joint 133, and the connection portion 136 a are discharge paths for connecting the cavity 131 and the cooling device 70 and discharging the coolant L from the cavity 131.

  The supply pipe 132, the discharge pipe 136, and the rotary joint 133 form a flow path for circulating the coolant L by connecting the cavity 131 and the cooling device 70.

  The cooling roller 91 cools the pressure member 34 by contacting the inner peripheral surface side of the pressure member 34.

The cooling device 70 has a radiator 72 for cooling the coolant L and a pump 74 for circulating the coolant L.
The cooling device 70 is disposed outside the first housing portion 310 to cool the cooling liquid L, and the discharge pipe 136 and the supply pipe 132 are connected to each other. The action of the pump 74 causes the cooling liquid L to be F. Cycles along the direction.

  The gloss discriminating means 86 is a gloss discriminating sensor that irradiates one surface of the paper P, in this case, the back surface that is in contact with the pressure member 34 and discriminates the presence or absence of gloss from the reflected light.

According to the configuration as described above, the toner adhering to the paper P while being in close contact with the endless belt 24 is cooled and cured, whereby the surface state of the endless belt 24 is transferred to the toner, and the peeling roll It peels in 27.
In the present embodiment, the cooling is performed more efficiently by combining three cooling units in which the first cooling member 41 and the cooling means 40 are combined and contacting the endless belt 24. Although FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which three are arranged side by side in particular, the number of the three is not necessarily limited as long as it is in a range that meets the purpose of sufficiently cooling.
For example, the first cooling members 41, 51, 61 may be cooled by the cooling means 40 as one large first cooling member 41 without being divided.

  The peeling roll 27 is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 32 and is cooled by the first cooling members 41, 51, 61 to peel the paper P after the toner is cured from the endless belt 24 by the curvature.

  The drive roll 26 is provided in the vicinity of the insertion port 33 so as to bridge the endless belt 24, and the endless belt 24 of the horizontally provided portion is directed from the insertion port 33 toward the paper discharge port 32. It is rotated by a drive source to move. A paper discharge tray for storing the discharged paper P may be provided outside the paper discharge port 32.

When the paper P conveyed by the endless belt 24 moves along the peeling roll 27, the curvature of the endless belt 24 increases at a position where the peeling roll 27 is located.
Accordingly, the paper P conveyed by the endless belt 24 is separated from the endless belt 24 and conveyed by the conveying member 31 in the vicinity of the position of the peeling roll 27.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the control unit 220 includes a conveyance control unit 221, a heating control unit 222, a pressurization control unit 223, and a cooling control unit 224. Each of these units is a function or means realized by operating according to a command from the CPU 211 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 212 shown in FIG.

  The conveyance control unit 221 controls and rotates the driving roll 26 to move the endless belt 24 in the D direction. The heating control unit 222 controls the gloss imparting heating roll 21 to have a predetermined temperature by causing the halogen heater 23 to generate heat. The pressurization control unit 223 controls the pressurization time of the paper P by controlling the rotation speeds of the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 and the gloss imparting heating roll 21.

The cooling control unit 224 controls the cooling units 42, 52, 62 and the pumps 44, 54, 64, etc., and adjusts the cooling amount to cool the paper P to a desired temperature.
The cooling control unit 224 is cooling control means for controlling the pressure cooling unit 13 and the cooling device 70 to control the flow rate of the coolant L to cool the pressure member 34.
The cooling control unit 224 controls the flow rate of the cooling liquid L to be in an OFF state in which the flow rate of the cooling liquid L is set to 0 when gloss is imparted to only one side of the paper P, and otherwise. Control is performed so that a predetermined amount set in advance is ON.
Alternatively, the cooling control unit 224 switches between the above-described ON state and OFF state according to whether or not gloss is imparted to the surface of the paper P that contacts the pressure member 34 detected by the gloss determination unit 86.

  The cooling control unit 224 also increases the flow rate of the coolant L when the transport speed of the endless belt 24 is fast, for example, and decreases the flow rate of the coolant L when the transport speed of the endless belt 24 is slow. As a result, the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is controlled. Alternatively, the cooling control unit 224 controls the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 by controlling the number of rotations of the fan of the radiator 72 to increase or decrease the temperature of the cooling liquid L.

The gloss imparting operation of the gloss imparting apparatus 300 having such a configuration will be described.
When the paper P is inserted, the gloss applying device 300 performs a process of generating a gloss on the image formed on the paper P. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIG. The gloss imparting device 300 receives the paper P discharged from the paper ejection roller 171 of the image forming apparatus 100 from the insertion port 33 of the gloss imparting device 300 as described above. Thus, the recording surface of the paper P to which the toner is attached is placed so as to be in contact with the smooth surface of the endless belt 24.

When the sheet P is received and placed so that the recording surface of the sheet P to which toner is attached is in contact with the smooth surface of the endless belt 24, the endless belt 24 conveys the sheet P according to the control of the conveyance control unit 221. . The endless belt 24 moves the paper P in the D direction by moving from the insertion port 33 to the paper discharge port 32 at a speed of 50 to 700 mm / sec by the driving force of the driving roll 26. When the leading edge of the paper P reaches the position of the glossing nip portion formed by the pressure member 34 and the gloss imparting heating roll 21, the pressure member 34 and the gloss imparting heating roll 21 sandwich the paper P and pressurize it. At this time, the halogen heater 23 as a heat generator generates heat under the control of the heating control unit 222, and the surface temperature of the endless belt 24 in the portion measured by the temperature sensor 25 is controlled and maintained at 150 ° C. The paper P is heated to 100 ° C. to 120 ° C. by passing through the gloss imparting nip portion, and the toner on the surface is softened and melted.
When the toner that forms the image formed on the paper P is in contact with the surface layer of the endless belt 24 while being softened and melted, the surface of the toner (hereinafter referred to as the toner surface) becomes smooth. By the heating and pressurization, the smoothness of the surface layer of the endless belt 24 is transferred to the toner surface and becomes smooth.

  After the paper P is heated and pressed by the pressure member 34 and the gloss imparting heating roll 21, the first cooling members 41, 51, 61 controlled by the cooling control unit 224 feed the paper P through the endless belt 24. Cool to below 40 ° C. The toner fixed on the surface of the paper P by being cooled is cured in a state where the smooth surface of the endless belt 24 is transferred, and is stably held in a state where the surface is smooth.

  Finally, the paper P is separated from the endless belt 24 at the position of the peeling roll 27, and gloss is imparted to the toner surface.

When the paper P is separated from the endless belt 24, it is placed on the conveying member 31. The transport member 31 on which the paper P is placed moves in the direction of the paper discharge port 32 and transports the paper P. When the paper P reaches the paper discharge port 32, it is discharged out of the gloss applying device 300. The discharged paper P is accommodated in a paper discharge tray.
The glossiness of the image thus obtained was a value of 65-80 with a 20 ° glossiness value.

The gloss imparting device 300 described above imparts gloss only to the front surface (surface) Ps where the paper P contacts the endless belt 24. In the following description, the surface to which the gloss is given first is the front surface Ps, and the surface to which the gloss is later given is the back surface Pr.
In order to give gloss to both sides of the paper P on which images are formed on both sides, the paper P is conveyed from the conveying member 31 to the recording material reversing means 36 by using the switching claw 35 which is the conveying destination changing means, and the paper P is reversed and the back surface is reversed. Is passed through the gloss imparting nip portion again in contact with the endless belt 24.

  By reversing the paper P and passing through the gloss imparting nip portion again, the toner image formed on the back surface Pr side also softens and melts in the gloss imparting nip portion, and the surface of the endless belt 24 The state is transferred to the back surface Pr.

At this time, heat and pressure are again applied to the surface Ps by the pressure member 34 that forms the gloss imparting nip portion. In the conventional structure as shown in FIG. 17, the pressure member 34 is easily heated by the gloss-imparting heating roll 21, and when the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is a certain level or more, the toner is softened again and the glossiness is lowered. There is a fear.
In order to prevent such remelting of the toner, it is important to cool the pressure member 34 and maintain the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 below a predetermined temperature.
As shown in FIG. 7, the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is desirably maintained at 80 ° C. or lower in order to prevent a decrease in the glossiness of the image due to remelting of the toner.

However, as shown in FIG. 17 described as an example of the prior art, when the gloss imparting nip portion is formed using only the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 and the gloss imparting heating roll 21, the gloss imparting process is performed. The pressure roll 22 rises to the same temperature as the gloss imparting nip.
The gloss-imparting pressure roll 22 is generally configured such that an elastic body such as rubber is disposed on a cylindrical metal member. Since the heat capacity is large, a surface temperature of 80 ° C. or less is provided by providing a cooling fan or the like. Is difficult to maintain.

  Further, when the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 side is to be cooled by a cooling fan or the like, an air flow may occur in the gloss imparting device, which may hinder the conveyance of the paper P. Cooling is preferably performed by means that do not cause disturbance.

  Alternatively, a configuration in which a cooling member that abuts against the pressurizing member 34 is separately attached is conceivable. However, in this method, there is a concern about an increase in the number of parts, and the wider the abutting portion, the higher the cooling effect. There is a concern that the length of will increase.

Therefore, as already described, the gloss applying device 300 includes the cooling roller 91 and the pressure cooling unit 13 that cools the inside of the cooling roller 91 using the cooling liquid L.
With this configuration, the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is maintained at 80 ° C. or lower, and even when images are formed on both sides of the paper P, the back surface Pr is given gloss without deteriorating the gloss on the front surface Ps. To do.
Further, since the pressure member 34 is cooled by the contact surface between the cooling roller 91 and the pressure member 34, the gap between the cooling roller 91 and the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 is reduced while ensuring the cooling effect. Therefore, the length of the pressure member 34 can be shortened.
Furthermore, since the cooling device 70 is located outside the first housing part 310, the cooling device 70 suppresses disturbance during the conveyance of the paper P.

Further, the pressure cooling unit 13 has a rotary joint 133.
With such a configuration, the pressure cooling unit 13 prevents the leakage of the cooling liquid L caused by the rotation of the cooling roller 91, and thus more efficiently maintains the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 at 80 ° C. or less. In addition, with this configuration, the gloss applying device 300 gives gloss to the back surface Pr without damaging the gloss of the front surface Ps even when images are formed on both surfaces of the paper P.

In addition, the gloss application device 300 includes a cooling control unit 224 that controls the flow rate of the cooling liquid L in the cavity 131.
With this configuration, the cooling control unit 224 adjusts the cooling amount, so that the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is more efficiently maintained at 80 ° C. or lower. For example, the cooling control unit 224 increases the cooling amount of the cooling liquid L when the rotating speed of the endless belt 24 is high, and suppresses an increase in the surface temperature of the pressure member 34.

The cooling control unit 224 switches between an ON state in which the flow rate of the coolant L is set to a predetermined amount and an OFF state in which the flow rate of the coolant L is 0.
With this configuration, when printing on both sides of the paper P, the cooling control unit 224 adjusts the cooling amount in an ON state, so the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 is more efficiently maintained at 80 ° C. or lower and only on one side. When printing, the power required for cooling is suppressed in the OFF state.
Further, when the pressure member 34 is not required to be cooled, the pressure member 34 is not cooled, so that the heating efficiency of the gloss imparting heating roll 21 can be increased.

Further, the gloss applying device 300 includes gloss determining means 86 that determines whether or not the surface of the paper P that contacts the pressure member 34 is glossy.
With this configuration, even when gloss is imparted to both sides of the paper P, the presence or absence of gloss on the surface Ps is determined, and the cooling control unit 224 changes the flow rate of the cooling liquid L, thereby impairing the gloss on the surface Ps. Without giving gloss to the back surface Pr, a high-quality gloss image can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the cooling device 70 that cools the cooling roller 91 is provided independently of the cooling means 40, 50, 60, but the first cooling member 61 may be cooled together with the cooling roller 91.
With this configuration, even when images are formed on both sides of the paper P, a high-quality gloss image can be obtained by imparting gloss to the back surface Pr without impairing the gloss of the front surface Ps, and the cost of the cooling device can be reduced. Can be saved.

  Further, the cavity 131 may be connected to any one of the cooling means 40, 50, 60 to cool any one of the first cooling members 41, 51, 61 together with the cavity 131. With this configuration, the gloss imparting device 300 imparts gloss to the back surface Pr without impairing the gloss of the front surface Ps even when images are formed on both surfaces of the paper P without newly providing a cooling device. High-quality glossy images.

  Next, the configuration of the supply hole 134 formed in the supply pipe 132 will be described as another embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the supply pipe 132 has an insertion portion 132b inserted into the cooling roller 91 as shown in FIG.
The insertion portion 132b has a supply hole 134a provided at the end portion on the most downstream side in the F direction that is the circulation direction of the coolant L in the supply pipe 132, in other words, at the end portion on the opposite side of the rotary joint 133. .
In other words, the supply hole 134a is positioned on the most upstream side along the F direction, which is the circulation direction of the coolant L, in the cavity 131.
The supply hole 134 a circulates the cooling liquid L in the F direction by supplying the cooling liquid L to the cavity 131.
The hollow portion 131 has a function as a roller cooling portion, and indicates a space outside the insertion portion 132 b and inside the cooling roller 91.

  With this configuration, the gloss applying device 300 maintains the surface temperature of the pressure member 34 at 80 ° C. or less, and does not impair the gloss of the surface Ps even when images are formed on both sides of the paper P. Gloss is imparted to the back surface Pr.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, the supply pipe 132 has an insertion part 132 c that is inserted into the cooling roller.
The insertion portion 132c has a plurality of downstream supply holes 134b that are upstream of the supply pipe 132 in the F direction and downstream of the hollow portion 131 in the F direction, that is, on the discharge pipe 136 side.
The insertion portion 132c also has a plurality of upstream supply holes 134c formed on the downstream side in the F direction of the supply pipe 132 and on the upstream side of the hollow portion 131 in the F direction, that is, on the opposite side of the discharge pipe 136.

Here, the number of the downstream supply holes 134b is configured to be smaller than the number of the upstream supply holes 134c. That is, the aperture ratio of the insertion portion 132c along the F direction in the cavity 131 around the unit length is lower on the downstream side in the F direction than on the upstream side in the F direction.
Accordingly, the flow rate of the coolant L passing through the downstream supply hole 134b is smaller than the flow rate of the coolant L passing through the upstream supply hole 134c.
With this configuration, since the coolant L flows more in the cavity 131 to the supply side than to the discharge side, heat exchange from the coolant L to the cooling roller 91 is performed efficiently.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the supply pipe 132 has an insertion portion 132 d that is inserted into the cooling roller.
The insertion parts 132d are formed at equal intervals along the F direction and have a plurality of supply holes 134d having different diameters.
Here, the diameter of the supply hole 134d is adjusted so that the opening ratio around the unit length of the insertion portion 132d along the F direction in the hollow portion 131 is larger on the upstream side in the F direction than on the downstream side in the F direction. Has been.
That is, the diameter _{r 1} of the supply hole 134d formed in the F direction upstream side of the insertion portion 132d is formed to be smaller than the diameter _{r 2} of the supply hole 134d formed in the direction F downstream portion of the insertion portion 132d Is done.
With this configuration, since the coolant L flows more in the cavity 131 to the supply side than to the discharge side, heat exchange from the coolant L to the cooling roller 91 is performed efficiently.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the supply pipe 132 has an insertion portion 132e inserted through the cooling roller.
In addition, the figure which looked at the cross-sectional view of the part shown with the dashed-dotted line in Fig.11 (a) from the axial direction of the cooling roller 91 is FIG.11 (b).

Here, as a virtual point formed on the insertion part 132e, the first reference point 135a facing the center of the region G where the pressure member 34 is wound around the cooling roller 91 and the center of the insertion part 132e are used. Consider a second reference point 135b that faces the first reference point 135a.
The insertion portion 132e has a supply hole 134e disposed upstream of the first reference point 135a in the E direction, which is the rotation direction of the pressure member 34, and downstream of the second reference point 135b in the E direction. Have.
The position of the supply hole 134e may be disposed between the first reference point 135a and the second reference point 135b in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion 132e, but in the E direction, the pressure member 34 and the cooling roller 91 It is desirable that it is arranged toward the point on the most upstream side in the E direction where the abuts.
In other words, it is desirable that the supply hole 134e be disposed at an intermediate point between the first reference point 135a and the second reference point 135b in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion 132e.
The plurality of supply holes 134e are arranged at equal intervals in the axial direction of the insertion portion 132e. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, as shown in the third and fourth embodiments, the supply holes 134e are holes. A plurality of holes having different diameters may be arranged.

The supply hole 134e is located on the most upstream side along the F direction, which is the circulation direction of the coolant L, in the cavity 131, and supplies the coolant L to the cavity 131, so that the supply hole 134e hits the outlet of the supply hole 134e. However, the cooling effect of the coolant L is the highest.
On the other hand, the pressure member 34 moves to the region G while being heated by the gloss-imparting heating roll 21 via the paper P in the gloss-imparting nip portion, so that the pressure member 34 is most upstream of the region G in the E direction. It is most efficient to cool the pressure member 34.
In the present embodiment, since the supply hole 134e is disposed at an intermediate point between the first reference point 135a and the second reference point 135b in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion 132e, the portion with the lowest temperature of the cavity 131 is It comes into contact with the pressure member 34 and cools efficiently.

Here, the number of supply holes 134e in the circumferential direction is one, but a plurality of supply holes 134e may be arranged in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG.
With this configuration, even when the supply amount of the coolant L is increased, the cooling is stably and efficiently performed.

In the sixth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 13, the supply pipe 132 has an insertion part 132 f that is inserted into the cooling roller 91.
The insertion portion 132f regulates the H direction, which is the perpendicular direction to the insertion portion 132f, between the plurality of supply holes 134f and the supply holes 134f, which is the flow direction of the coolant L flowing out of the supply holes 134f. And a partition plate 139 as a liquid flow control unit.

The partition plate 139 is a disc-shaped member having a radius r ₃ which is formed over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction serving E direction of the cooling roller 91, is fixed to the insertion part 132f in a manner that penetrated the central portion in the insertion portion 132f ing.
The partition plate 139 efficiently applies the coolant L to the inner wall of the cavity 131 by restricting the outflow direction of the coolant L from the supply hole 134f in a direction orthogonal to the insertion portion 132f.
With this configuration, the sufficiently cooled cooling liquid L is suppressed from being immediately discharged from the discharge pipe 136, and is circulated through the cavity 131 to be discharged after heat exchange. The effect is improved.
In the present embodiment, the partition plate 139 is formed perpendicular to the insertion portion 132f. With this configuration, the flow direction of the cooling liquid L is limited to the direction toward the inner wall on the outer peripheral side of the cavity 131, so that the cooling efficiency for the inner wall of the cavity 131 is improved.

For example, the size of the partition plate 139 may be different between the upstream side and the downstream side in the F direction in accordance with the configuration shown in the third to fifth embodiments.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the upstream partition plate 139a disposed on the upstream side in the F direction has a larger area than the downstream partition plate 139b disposed on the downstream side of the upstream partition plate 139a. You may change the size of the partition plate 139 so that it may become large. In other words, the radius r ₃ of the partition plate 139 may be formed so as to go downstream in the F direction.
With this configuration, the cooling liquid L supplied in the cavity 131 can easily move to the inner wall of the cooling roller 91, but the discharge from the discharge pipe 136 is not hindered, so that the cooling efficiency is further improved.
Alternatively, the size of the partition plate 139 disposed closest may be changed according to the amount of the coolant L supplied from the supply hole 134f, that is, the inflow amount.
With this configuration, the cooling liquid L flowing in from the supply hole 134f easily moves to the inner wall of the cooling roller 91, but does not hinder the discharge from the discharge pipe 136, so that the cooling efficiency is further improved.

In this embodiment, the partition plate 139 is formed so as to be orthogonal to the insertion portion 132f over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction, but is not limited to this configuration, and the shape is not particularly limited. However, considering the cooling efficiency, it is preferable to cool the entire inner wall of the cooling roller 91, and it is desirable that the insertion portion 132f be axisymmetric.
For example, as shown in the fifth embodiment, when the plurality of supply holes 134e are formed side by side in the circumferential direction, they are formed along the longitudinal direction of the insertion portion 132f, in other words, along the F direction. May be.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, the partition plate 139 may be inclined so that the inclination angle increases as it goes upstream in the F direction, or as shown in FIG. 16, with a spiral partition plate 139. There may be.

In the present embodiment, the partition plate 139 is a plate-like member. However, any partition member may be used as long as the flow direction of the coolant L from the supply hole 134f is limited to an arbitrary direction.
Specifically, a configuration like a duct may be used, and the direction of regulating the outflow direction is not limited.
In the sixth embodiment, one supply hole 139f is disposed between the partition plates 139. However, a plurality of supply holes 139f are disposed between the partition plates 139. Also good.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention described in the claims is not specifically limited by the above description. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 and the gloss applying apparatus 300 may be provided close to each other as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a conveyance belt or the like for conveying the paper P is provided between the paper discharge roller 171 of the image forming apparatus 100 and the insertion port 33 of the gloss applying apparatus 300, and the image forming apparatus 100 and the gloss applying apparatus 300 are placed at positions separated from each other. May be. In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 and the gloss providing apparatus 300 are described as separate apparatuses. However, the functions of these apparatuses may be included in a single apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 forms an image using C, M, Y, and K toners. However, the C, M, Y, and K toners are used. In addition, special toners such as clear toner and white toner may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 forms an image using C, M, Y, and K toners as a recording agent. However, if the glossiness is improved by melting, Not only toner but also ink or the like may be used as a recording agent.

  Further, a cooling member that abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the cooling roller 91 may be used as the roller cooling unit unless the distance between the cooling roller 91 and the gloss imparting pressure roll 22 is excessively widened.

  In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 describes a process of forming an image based on RGB image information. However, the image forming apparatus 100 may form an image based on image information representing a monochrome image.

Moreover, although the cooling device which comprises the cooling means 40, 50, 60 was made into the water cooling type which uses cooling water and a radiator in this embodiment, you may use another refrigerant | coolant.
Moreover, although the cooling device 70 was described so as to be different from the cooling means 40, 50, 60, for example, any one of the cooling means 40, 50, 60 may be used as the cooling device.

Further, the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment may be combined to decrease the diameter of the upstream supply hole and reduce the number of the supply holes so that the aperture ratio decreases.
Further, in the fourth embodiment, the size of each supply hole may be increased stepwise from the upstream side in the F direction toward the downstream side, or the supply hole is divided into an upstream side and a downstream side. You may comprise so that the thing arrange | positioned upstream may be small, and the thing arrange | positioned downstream may be enlarged.

In the first to fifth embodiments described above, the direction in which the coolant flows in the insertion portion and the direction in which the cavity discharges the coolant are reversed. Is downstream in the F direction in the cavity.
However, the direction in which the coolant flows in the insertion portion and the direction in which the cavity discharges the coolant L may be the same.
In that case, it is desirable to design the size and number of supply holes by defining upstream and downstream with reference to the direction in which the cavity 131 discharges the coolant L.

  The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

13 Pressure Cooling Unit 21 Heating Member (Glossing Heating Roll)
24 endless belt 25 temperature detector 34 pressure member 40 cooling means 41 first cooling member 42 cooling unit 43 tank 44 pump 45 channel 50 cooling unit 51 first cooling member 52 cooling unit 53 tank 54 pump 55 channel 60 cooling Means 61 First cooling member 62 Cooling section 63 Tank 64 Pump 65 Flow path 66 Temperature detection means (cooling temperature sensor)
70 Cooling device 86 Gloss determining means 91 Cooling roller 100 Image forming device 131 Roller cooling part (cavity part)
132 Flow path (supply pipe)
136 Flow path (discharge pipe)
133 Rotary joints 134, 134a, 134d, 134e Supply holes 134b Supply holes arranged on the downstream side (downstream supply holes)
134c Supply hole (upstream supply hole) 135a arranged on the upstream side First reference point 135b Second reference point 139 Liquid flow control unit (partition plate)
139a Upstream partition plate 139b Downstream partition plate 300 Gloss imparting device 310 First housing part D Endless belt moving direction E Liquid moving direction F Liquid circulating direction G Area where pressure member is wound around cooling roller H Flow direction of liquid L Liquid (cooling liquid)
P Recording medium Ps Front surface of recording medium Pr Back surface of recording medium

JP 2013-007807 A JP 2013-182184 A Japanese Patent No. 5241155 JP 2004-325934 A JP 2013-007801 A JP 2014-209168 A

JP 2013-007807 A JP 2014-182184 A Japanese Patent No. 5241155 JP 2004-325934 A JP 2013-007801 A JP 2014-209168 A

Claims (14)

An endless belt for conveying the recording medium in contact with the recording agent on the recording medium and imparting gloss to the recording agent;
A heating member wound around the endless belt for heating the endless belt;
A pressurizing member that pressurizes the endless belt with the heating member;
A cooling roller around which the pressure member is wound;
A pressure cooling unit that cools the cooling roller using a liquid;
A first housing portion disposed so as to surround the endless belt, the heating member, the pressure member, and the cooling roller;
The pressure cooling unit is located outside the first housing unit and cools the liquid, a roller cooling unit that contacts the cooling roller to cool the cooling roller, and the roller cooling And a liquid flow path connecting the cooling device to the gloss applying device. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 1,
The gloss applying device, wherein the pressure cooling unit includes a rotary joint. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A gloss applying device comprising cooling control means for controlling a flow rate of the liquid in the roller cooling section. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 3,
The gloss control apparatus, wherein the cooling control unit switches between an ON state in which the flow rate of the liquid is set to a predetermined amount and an OFF state in which the flow rate of the liquid is zero. The gloss imparting device according to claim 3 or 4,
Gloss determining means for determining the presence or absence of gloss on the surface of the recording medium in contact with the pressure member;
The gloss control apparatus, wherein the cooling control unit controls the flow rate of the liquid according to the presence or absence of the gloss determined by the gloss determination unit. In the gloss imparting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The flow path has an insertion part that is inserted into the cooling roller and supplies the liquid to the roller cooling part.
The roller cooling part is outside the insertion part and inside the cooling roller,
The gloss applying device, wherein the insertion part has a supply hole for supplying the liquid inside the insertion part to the roller cooling part. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 6,
The gloss applying device, wherein the insertion portion has the supply hole in an upstream end portion in a circulation direction of the liquid in the roller cooling portion. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 6,
The flow rate of the liquid from the plurality of supply holes to the roller cooling unit per unit length along the circulation direction of the liquid in the roller cooling unit is a plurality of the supply holes. A gloss imparting apparatus characterized in that the upstream side in the circulation direction is greater than the downstream side. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 8,
The gloss applying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the plurality of supply holes is smaller in the number arranged on the downstream side than the number arranged on the upstream side. The gloss imparting device according to claim 8 or 9,
The gloss applying device, wherein the plurality of supply holes have a diameter of the supply hole arranged on the downstream side smaller than a diameter of the supply hole arranged on the upstream side. The gloss imparting apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 10,
The supply hole is on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the pressure member with respect to the first reference point facing the center of the region where the pressure member is wound around the cooling roller in the insertion portion. A gloss applying device, wherein the gloss applying device is disposed downstream of the second reference point facing the first reference point across the center of the portion. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 11,
A gloss imparting apparatus comprising a plurality of the supply holes in a circumferential direction of the insertion portion. The gloss imparting apparatus according to claim 8 or 10,
A gloss applying device, comprising a liquid flow control unit that is disposed between the plurality of supply holes and regulates the flow direction of the liquid flowing out from each of the supply holes.   An image forming apparatus comprising the gloss applying device according to claim 1.

Images